BLACK OUT DAYS | THE WALKING DEAD

What Happened And What's Going On

"You've got other cops out on patrols, right?" Rick asked, the girl nodded. "Give me their routes."

They made another plan. Nate was banished to the rooftops with Noah, Daryl, Tyreese, and Sasha while Rick walked up to a car with his hands raised at the bottom of an abandoned car garage. Noah and Nate stayed by the car so he couldn't hear what Tyreese and Sasha were saying to each other at the edge of the building.

"It wasn't your fault." Noah had said to him. Nate turned his head towards him. "That guy was an asshole and would've killed Daryl if you hadn't stepped in." Nate's jaw clenched as he stared at the ground. "They don't fault you for that. Their plan just got a little harder, that's all." Nate's nostrils suddenly flared as he let out a frustrated sigh and then he ran his hands through his hair.

"I don't need you to pity me." Nate replied. Noah widened his eyes and raised his hands.

"It wasn't-it wasn't pity. You just look like you've got a lot going through your head. Thought I could help." He said, he walked towards Sasha then, not giving Nate a chance to reply.

They got into Grady with Shepherd and Lamson and the other two cops Rick met had led them through the building. Nate stood directly behind Rick as his back up. Nate's heart rate started to pick up, the closer they got to Beth with each step. This was what he had wanted since the second he realized she was gone. He had missed her so much. They finally ended up at a set of double doors and Rick looked through the glass. He turned back to Nate and nodded. His heart fluttered, Beth and Carol were on the other side of the glass. The cops opened the doors and they walked through. Nate couldn't help it as a grin spread across his face as he saw Beth and Carol beyond the other cops. They stepped aside for Beth to roll Carol though as the two cops that weren't their prisoners walked up to them.

"Where's Licari?" The woman asked, Nate assumed she was Dawn and his shoulders tensed.

"Rotters got him." Shepherd replied.

"We saw it go down." Lamson said from Daryl's side.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." She told them. "He was one of the good guys." Nate forced himself to not roll his eyes. "One of yours for one of mine." Rick nodded at the command and Daryl brought Lamson over to them. One of the cops took Carol's wheelchair from Beth and rolled her over. Daryl traded with him and took her bag and pushed her over. She smiled at Nate, taking his forearm and holding it in a tight grip. He returned her smile and squeezed her wrist back. She let him go and then Rick brought Shepherd and Dawn pulled Beth over. They traded and Rick softly placed a hand to her head and kissed her forehead and then her eyes landed on Nate and he couldn't help himself as he bounded across the hall and scooped her into his arms, twirling her around.

"Hey." He said. She let out a laugh.

"Hey." She replied, pulling her head back. He knelt down and put his forehead to hers and kept a hand to the back of her neck. Nate let out another shaky breath as he pulled away. It had all been worth it, he thought. Everything they'd been through since they lost each other, for her to be safe in his arms and for their family to have found each other again after this world had tried to tear them apart.

"Glad we could work things out." Dawn said. Beth stepped away from Nate when Daryl had come over and put a hand to her back as they tried to walk away.

"Yeah." Rick said as he attempted to head back to the group.

"Now I just need Noah." Dawn said. They all turned back and Rick took a step towards her.

"That wasn't the deal."

"Noah was my ward. Beth took his place and now I'm losing her so I need him back." Shepherd had tried to speak up but Dawn wouldn't let her. Nate threw a worried look back at Noah. "My officers put their lives on the line to find him. One of them died."